Watervliet High school
students attend Project VOICE performance at the Troy Music Hall in
November.

Students learn to express
their voices through spoken word poetry

Nov. 10, 2014

Watervliet High School students who
attended a recent performance of Project VOICE at the Troy Music
Hall are voicing a new-found appreciation of poetry and have become
inspired to write their own poems.

More than 30 Watervliet students joined
their peers from neighboring schools for a free performance
featuring award-winning poets, performers and educators Franny Choi
and Philip Kaye from Project VOICE—a national movement that
celebrates and inspires youth self-expression through Spoken Word
Poetry. Through the program, students are exposed to spoken word
poetry, engaged to develop their voice and excited to share their
ideas.

Toward the end of the performance, poets
Choi and Kaye invited students, including Josie Munhall and Thomas
Brown, on stage to participate and recite some of their own poetry.
Following the show, the poets answered audience questions, posed for
photos and signed autographs.

“After experiencing the performance many
of my students are very interested in poetry recitation,” said
Watervliet English teacher Mark Snyder. “It was a great introduction
for students to learn more about spoken word poetry; in fact,
several students have expressed interest in attending an event like
this again.”

The field trip also provided students an
opportunity to visit a local treasure and National Historic
Landmark: the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in downtown Troy.

The local performance was made possible
through the Riverfront Arts in Education Collaborative, a project
facilitated by Questar III BOCES, which brings together arts and
cultural institutions and schools in the Troy area to enrich
teaching and learning through the arts. Participants include The
Arts Center of the Capital Region, The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall,
Sage Theatre Institute, Ellen Sinopoli Modern Dance Company and
neighboring school districts—Troy, Rensselaer, Lansingburgh, Cohoes,
Green Island and Watervliet.

More about Project VOICE

Project VOICE uses spoken word poetry to entertain, educate, and
inspire. Through award-winning performances and innovative
workshops, Project VOICE is dedicated to promoting empowerment,
improving literacy, and encouraging empathy and creative
collaboration in classrooms and communities around the world.
Project VOICE has a lasting impact; students come away from a
Project VOICE visit with a higher motivation to create, a belief in
their own voice, and a desire to share and listen to each other’s
stories.

Project VOICE has performed for
audiences including National Poetry Slam, TED Conferences, HBO, NPR
and Lincoln Center. Project VOICE is dedicated to promoting
empowerment, improving literacy, and encouraging empathy and
creative collaboration in classrooms and communities around the
world.

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